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Thursday, December 31, 2009

I read that we are supposed to have a Blue Moon tonight (this was taken looking away from the sun)

I was able to capture the colors but not the rays of light that were shining downActually I took these last night. There is an open field with trees at the far end it. The trees block the setting sun but not it's beauty. For the bottom photo I set my camera to blur most of the trees hoping that the other worldly colors of the sky would work well with the muted silhouettes of the trees.

I would now like to thank all of the wonderful friends that have visited my blogs. I've been doing this for less than a year and it's far more rewarding than I ever could have imagined.

Thank's and Happy New Year everyone!

If you would like to participate in Skywatch Friday please click here.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Most of the old churches near my house have little cemeteries in back. This is a park like setting near the cemetery of a 240 year old church. I've walked around here a few times but I've never seen another person around.

This post was inspired by my blogging friend Malyss. She finds and posts wonderful pictures of benches on a daily basis. Now I find myself really noticing all of the different styles of benches that are all around.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Last week's snow storm was a first for us so we weren't prepared. We ended up digging our car out of the snow with an ice scraper and a kitchen broom. While on one of my walks I saw how the locals deal with snow.

Vicki won't let me get snow removal equipment like the ones in the photos above so I'll have to settle for a snow shovel. Now that the snow is gone, let's see if I'm smart enough to buy the shovel before the next snow fall. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

By Sunday afternoon the blizzard had blown away and I put on my space suit (that's what all the winter gear reminds me of) and ventured outside to explore. While I was taking a picture I heard some people talking right behind me. They turned to the left by the time I got my shot. On a whim I took a couple of pictures of the people. This is where the coincidence kicks in. Yesterday I was trying to find out how much snow fell in Newtown and I ended up at Bucks Local News. This article was on the front page. Do the people in the news article look familiar? I must have been practically back to back with the photographer when he took it.

Friday, December 18, 2009

This is a reflection of a pegasus statue and some trees in a fountain at the Mirabell Gardens in Salzburg. The coins, leaves and debris in the fountain look like stars to me, also there is a coin or a leaf that looks like a menacing eye on the Pegasus reflection.

It's great to be back and I look forward to seeing lots of great reflections!

"Weekend Reflections" rules are simple:

1)Post a *reflection photograph that was taken by you. (*A photo that contains a reflection)

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

This picture was taken on a foot and bike bridge on the way back to the hotel from Bärenwirt restaurant. Looking over the Salzach river you can see Old Town with its towering cathedrals. Above it all is the 932-year-old Hohensalzburg Castle, which sits at the top of Festungsberg Hill.

Salzburg is a clean and comfortable city that is divided by a river. It has mountain views and lots of charming narrow side streets to explore. It was raining when we arrived and lightly snowing when we left, but it was clear and cool for the most part.

Salzburg is famous for being the birthplace of Mozart, The Sound of Music and Sacher tortes, which taste pretty good by the way.

Everything of interest was within walking distance from our hotel, which was right next to the Mirabell Gardens: interesting museums, beautiful churches, restaurants, Christmas Markets and lots of wonderful old buildings.

I tried my first schnitzel (it was pork instead of veal) at an old authentic Austrian restaurant called Bärenwirt. Vicki had pork roast with the most incredible cabbage. Then we shared a delicious dessert. What a fantastic meal!

We also discovered a type of muesli that we had never tried before but we really liked it. It was kind of like a a thick muesli smoothie topped with fresh cut fruit and eaten with a spoon. We ate the muesli with croissants and coffee for really good breakfasts.

Monday, December 14, 2009

As you can see I was standing in the shade from all of the wonderful old buildings in Prague's Old Town. The famous Tyn Church is in the center and our hotel was about 20 meters to the right of it.

This is where we stayed it was very nice inside and out

This photo was taken in front of the hotel facing the spot where I took the top photo.

I would like to welcome the new followers and thank the participants of Weekend Reflections. It looks like it went well while I was away. I took a few reflection photos in Europe that I look forward to posting.

The trip was wonderful but it's nice to be home. We saw so many interesting things and we ate some really great food. The weather ranged from mild to cold and we got a mix of clear skies, some rain and even a little snow.

We went to Prague first after changing planes in Munich.

After Prague we flew back to Munich and took a train to Salzburg.

After Salzburg we took the train back to Munich where we stayed for the final week of the trip.

Here is a short summary of Prague which will be followed by summaries of Salzburg and Munich.

1)Prague was fun but it was way too crowded and had too many tourist shops (sort of a Disneyland feel to it.) The buildings,bridges and views were really beautiful and our room was comfortable and came with a nice breakfast. The Christmas Market at Old Town square was great, it opened the day after we arrived.

Notable meals were goulash with bread like dumplings and kielbasa with mustard on a roll.

I return this weekend but I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures to process and jetlag to shake off. So It will take a some days to get back to my routine.Feel free to be creative. Remember this meme is for any type of reflection.This meme runs Friday 11ish am EST through Sunday, so feel free to link your post anytime within that time frame. Join the fun!